The various styles of conventional footwear include, for example, athletic footwear, sandals, dress shoes, and boots, and these articles of footwear typically are formed of two primary elements, namely an upper member and a sole structure. The specific structures and configurations of the upper member and/or the sole structure vary significantly depending, for example, upon the style of footwear, the intended use for the footwear, and the like. With regard to athletic footwear, for example, the upper member may cover the entire foot and may be formed from lightweight components. The sole structure may be formed of multiple layers, including a midsole and an outsole. The midsole typically attenuates ground reaction forces upon impact with the ground or other surface. The outsole, on the other hand, typically provides a durable, wear-resistant surface and may include texturing or other elements to enhance traction. In addition, the sole structure of athletic footwear may include an insole that is positioned within or adjacent the upper member and adjacent to the sole of the foot in order to enhance the comfort of the footwear. The insole often is secured within the upper member with an adhesive to prevent it from moving relative to other portions of the footwear.
Historically, shoe stores or retail areas were configured to provide limited showroom space where customers viewed samples of shoes. Typically, a representative model of each shoe would be displayed, often in only a single size and/or as a single shoe. The remaining footwear inventory typically is stored in an inventory or storeroom area that is partitioned from the showroom and accessible only by store personnel. This configuration allowed a greater selection of shoe styles to be presented to customers in a smaller space. Because customers had varying shoe sizes, when a customer expressed interest in a particular shoe style, store personnel would need to check for the desired size in the inventory area, obtain the specific size and model requested by the interested customer (if available), and deliver the shoe to the customer for fitting.
Eventually, as the shoe business became more price competitive, some store owners concluded that significant employee time and effort was being expended on the unprofitable and time-consuming task of shoe retrieval from the inventory area and shoe fitting. As a result, store redesign efforts focused on ways to allow salespersons to spend more time on the sales floor directly assisting customers and less time retrieving shoes for potential customers. For example, shoe store designs began to eliminate the inventory area in favor of designs in which all or substantially all of the shoes, in all the available sizes (i.e., the complete inventory), were available on the showroom floor. These designs, however, have certain disadvantages. First, because all of the shoes are present on the showroom floor, it is difficult to organize the shoes in an efficient manner. Second, because customers are expected to find their own size and model of shoe, the shoes needed to be displayed so that customers can easily identify and access the desired model and size of a shoe. Current shoe store designs of this “warehouse” type, with large and high stacks of shoe boxes in large long rows, can make location of desired shoes by customers a difficult, time-consuming, and frustrating task.
Many conventional footwear designs also do not allow for effective storage and retrieval of footwear in the consumer's home once the footwear is purchased. For example, people often fill closets or other storage spaces with many pairs of shoes, often of various different sizes and/or belonging to multiple wearers. As the articles of footwear get moved around, individual shoes of a pair often become separated, resulting in difficulty finding a matching pair. Moreover, travelers sometimes forget to pack both shoes in a pair because the shoes are inadvertently separated.
The above issues cause inconvenience, frustration, and inefficiencies for footwear wholesalers, retailers, and users.